Paint-mixing paddle



Get. 3, 1950 F, REN 2,524,475

PAINT-MIXING PADDLE Filed Nov. 14, 1946 Inventor Mk Fred W. Renz Patented Oct. 3, 1950 7 2,524,475 PAINT-MIXING PADDLE' Fred W. Benz, Indianapolis, Ind. Application November 14, 1946, Serial No. 709,759

Claims. 1

This invention relates to a manually usable paint stirring and mixing paddle and particularly to such structural and functional improvements as are therein incorporated to render same highly efficient and aptly suitable for effectiveand intimate mixing of the ingredients which go into make up the finished, ready-to-use paint.

Stated in terms of greater particularity, the invention is carried out in the form of a simple and expedient hand-paddle characterized by a suitable handle and a eomplemental stirrer and whipping head, the latter being so designed as to perform to its utmost in thoroughly agitating and churning the paint mixture to the desired smoothness and consistency, whereby to thus condition the stirred product for ready use.

The form of the invention chosen as'representative of my improved ideas, while a single instrument, is, in effect, two separate tools, thus providing in a single article, at a single cost price, the functions of a practical hand paddle for paint mixing and a scraper for scraping off scaly and rough coated surfaces as a preliminary step preparatory to the actual painting step.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and suitably practical one-piece metal stirring and agitating paddle with one end thereof fashioned into an appropriately employable handle and the other end formed into an expressly bent, laterally disposed flange, the latter constituting a stirring head and being possessed of a number of pointed features to be hereinafter set forth.

Although all kinds of paddles, both home made and factory made, have at various times in the past been used or tried out, they have all had their faults, and the need for improvement still exists. The paddle of the instant case is scientifically designed by one experienced in the use of paddles to overcome such faults. It mixes, mashes, and scoops better and faster, thereby saving energy, time, and expense. And when it is desired to be used as a scraper, it can quickly be converted into one by simply sharpening the scraping edges Of the paddle, which likewise must be frequently done to all scraping tools when in use.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure l is a perspective view of a paint stirring and mixing paddle constructed in accordance wlth the specific principles of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the sheet metal (or other material) blank from which the paddle is completely constructed.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view on the line 33 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indi-' cated.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary edge view, on a reduced scale, showing the headed end of the paddle.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective View showing a modified form of paddle.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section through the structure illustrated in Figure 5, this on the line 66 of Figure 5.

' Attention is first directed to the form of the invention covered in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive.

As before indicated, the paddle is preferably formed from sheet metal or equivalent stock and is of one-piece construction and characterized by two main parts, the body or shank 1 and complemental head 9. The shank proper, at 8, is fiat faced on opposite sides and of appropriate width and length and has its outer end corrugated, as at M, to provide an appropriate hand-grip, as is obvious. The terminal end portion. H of the hand-grip is rounded and standing hook-shaped lug l2 which may be used in pryinglids from paint cans and the like. The numeral I3 designates an elongated, centrally positioned slot which may be referred to as a nail-hole and which is used in suspending the tool from a support by way of a nail, when not in use.

The claw-like head 9 is at an approximate ob-, tuse angle to the body 8 and is characterized chiefly by an offset foot-like flange l4, said flange being centrally bifurcated and the furcations, thus defined at l5 and I6, constituting resilient, self-adapting fingers. This flange is joined, as at [1, to the body by way of a bend, the latter being of such degree as to dispose the fiange proper at an approximate angle to the longitudinal dimension or axis of the body 8. Th outer or free ends I8 of the fingers are again bent inwardly and laterally, as at the points IBa, and these terminal or free ends provide two scraping. teeth, the normal bottom or under-surfaces thereof being beveled by sharpening, as at'l9, to. provide the desired feather-edge formations.

The stated flange means (in addition to, a head) functions as a scooping and stirring spoon to help lift the heavier material to the provided with an outv transversely slanting top of a receptacle when stirring. Those who have used paint materials know they must occasionally or constantly be stirred up in the container in which it is held. This is because the heavy ingredients of the mixture have a tendency to keep settling and need to be constantly agitated and stirred up to insure uniform consistency. The customary common hand paddle used for this purpose permits most of the material picked up from the bottom to slide off the paddle blade before it reaches the top, thus requiring more time to complete the process of mixing.

I have chosen to use a metal paddle because it is easier to keep clean, is strong and sturdy, and can withstand rough abuse. I might add, too, in connection with the practice under consideration, that the underneath side, that is, the underneath side seen in Figure 1 of the flange, provides a sort of a tamp which may be used for mashing and kneading thick particles of the paint. This fulcruming and mashing feature, which gives the user considerable leeway in employing same, is of appreciable importance, obviously.

Figure 4 shows the paddle as a scraping tool with the scraping teeth H! in positions for satisfactory scraping. It should be noticed here that the flange has three different angles in it. Angle I1 slants the flange Id crosswise or transversely of the blade of the paddle about three degrees. This makes one end of said flange narrower than the other and aids and permits the flange to set evenly on the bottom of the receptacle and is important, as the paddle has a natural tendency to lean a little toward the person using it. This slight lean of the paddle helps the flange it to strike flat when tamping. The flange itself extends forward and away from the shank and is bent upward to about 70, more or less. Its function is to hold the thicker material, as in a spoon, while being lifted to the top of the stirring process, while at the same time permitting part of it to keep sliding ofi on the Way up, thus distributing the bottom material in all directions by the motion of the stirring process. The third and remaining angular bend is the lengthwise edge of the flange bent or turned upward at an angle of about 10. This turned up edge-like angle or bend l'l helps the flange to strike and rest evenly and gives it a rocking motion that aids the mashing action.

Considering some of the other points existing in the construction described, it will be seen that the corners of the teeth 18 are properly rounded to cause them to glide and skid on the sides of the receptacle during the stirring operation and to avoid undue scratching and hanging in corners.

The slot forming the furcations and the {ureations functioning a fingers provides the factor of flexibility and this helps to hold the flange in place and prevents it from slipping sideways when tamping and mashing. But, what is more important, the flexible feature is to absorb and prevent the transmission of undue vibrations to the hand, such as would be the situation where the entire flange is stamped out in one-piece form.

It should be understood that this slot is not intended to function like a table fork, kitchen utensil or comb. The fingers have little effect in, the mixing f materials, as they quickly gum and clog up and it would be a nuisance to try to keep them open. This is because of the nature of the materials a paint paddle is used in, but their gripping and holding ability is not impaired. It is important to know that any arrangement of slots and holes in a hand paint handle for squeezing material through them in the mixing process is not considered practical. It should be noticed, also, that the flange makes it practical to use a more narrow blade because of the increased efficiency, thereby having a paddle of one size fitting more receptacles.

Reference is had now to the form of the invention shown in Figures 5 and 6. Generically speaking, this embodiment has the same structural and functional characteristics as already shown and described in connection with the form of the invention seen in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive. However, this structure had better be briefly reviewed in that the body is in the form of a plate Ba which merges by way of the jointing bend l'ia into the flange-like head or foot 9a. The flange 9a is formed with a series of slits 20 defining bendable fingers 2|, said fingers having laterally bent terminals or teeth 22 with beveled terminal edge portions 23 defining knife-life edges. The plate 8a is bolted by way of bolts and nuts 24 to a wooden carrying and handle-forming paddle 25. The points, features and advantages already recited also apply to this embodiment of the invention.

In laying out the drawings, and in addition to showing the paddle in one position in Figure 1 and upside down for use as a scraper in Figure 4, I have also included a view, that is, Figure 2, showing the blank of metal from which the tool is fashioned. The dotted line representations have been included in depicting the structure of Figure 2 and are indicated by reference characters corresponding to those used in Figure 1. This will enable the reader to trace out the details and their relative forms and relationship.

Generically visualized, both embodiments of the invention (Figures 1 and 5 respectively), have to do with either a metal or wooden handled paint conditioning paddle which is employed for stirring, mashing, scooping and otherwise swish-swashing the rather heavy prepared paint, the same being characterized by a flat plate-like or equivalent body portion having handle means at its normal upper end and special flange ends at its opposite lower end, said flange means projecting at an approximate obtuse angle from the body portion, being of general rectangular form, and so shaped and bent that it is narrower on one side than on the opposed side, said flange means having at least one longitudinal slot and said slot opening through the outer tip or terminal portion of the flange means, and said tip end of the flange means being bent outwardly and upwardly relative to the flange portion to provide What may be conveniently designated as prongs.

In view of the foregoing. description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, it is believed that a clear understanding of the construction, operation nd advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention that the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and within the scope of the appended claims. 1 j,

I claim:

1. A paint stirring and mixing paddle of the class described comprising a one-piece structure characterized by a body portion formed into a shank, said shank being linearly straight in the main, corrugated transversely into handle-forming bends at one end, the opposite end having a lateral flange, said flange being centrally slotted to define fingers and said fingers having laterally bent terminal tips.

2. A pain stirring and mixing paddle of the class described comprising a one-piece structure characterized by a body portion formed into a shank, said shank being linearly straight in the main, corrugated transversely into handle-forming bends at one end, the opposite end having a laterally deflected flange forming a foot, the latter being disposed at an approximate seventy degree angle and being narrower at one end than at the other.

3. A paint stirring, mashing, and scooping paddle comprising a flat, plate-like body portion having handle means at one end, andlateral flange means at its opposite end, said flange means projecting at an approximate obtuse angle from said body portion, being of general recon the other, said flange means having at least I serving to 0 on the bottom of the paint bucket, said flange being bifurcated, and the free tip portions of the furcations being bent upwardly to provide pronglike tips, the angularity of said flange to said shank being approximately seventy degrees, the angularity of the free tip portions being at approximately ten degrees to the flange included furcations.

5. A paint stirring, mashing and scooping paddle of the class described comprising a relatively broad and elongated handle equipped wooden paddle, a metal plate fastened to one side of the working end portion of said paddle, a portion of said plate projecting well beyond said paddle to provide laterally directed flange means, said flange means being adjoined to the plate by a bend which is transverse to the plate and also at an oblique angle, said end portion being longitudinally slotted to provide a plurality of duplicate bendable fingers, the outer tip portions of said fingers being laterally bent.

FRED W. RENZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 45,189 Ford Feb. 3, 1914 52,092 Tevis Jan. 16, 1866 663,303 Sutton Dec. 4, 1900 1,460,007 Williams June 26, 1923 1,498,509 Arnold June 17, 1924 1,751,853 Buck Mar. 25, 1930 1,963,007 Week June 12, 1934 2,044,129 Soukup June 16, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 290,952 Great Britain May 24, 1928 

